The elephant in disguise
by rickrodgerscastle
Summary: AU from Rise - Kate finally comes back from the summer with a surprise. Castle also has a surprise in store and has a Dragon in his sights. How far will the elephant in disguise go to defeat the Dragon?
1. Prologue

**I own nothing related to Castle apart from DVD boxsets and this chapter will be the shortest of the story.**

 **My work takes a lot of time so I write on the way to work and on the way home so updates are a little slow.**

 **This takes place after the book signing in Rise Season 1**

'Josh help you with that?' Castle asked.

'He did yes... he came with me to the Cabin and took the first two months off work to help me as I needed a doctor so...' Beckett trailed off.

She was there fiddling with her fingers and then Castle noticed the glint on her fourth finger and his heart sank. In that moment, his whole time with Beckett flashed past his eyes and he realised the futility of chasing after her as she had made her choice now about who her 'one and done' was. She had also rejected him many times before but never to his face, whether it was always to go back or out with someone else – that's when it clicked. Beckett cares about him as a friend and does not know how to put this to him without hurting him.

When she told him she had no memory of the shooting, she didn't look at him and didn't give a straight answer but castle knew that was her answer to him and his feelings. He suddenly realised the path ahead of him: he would stay by her side as a partner, he would keep her safe and he would solve her mother's murder so she could be happy even if it wasn't with him. Clearing his throat and with a heavy heart, he said:

'Well I am glad you had someone looking after you – give me some time before coming back to the precinct if you need or want me there so I can finish my duties here. Also I can see congratulations are in order for you and Josh and as long as you're happy then that's all that matters.'

Beckett realised what he had seen and her voice stuck in her throat – not sure what to say – but she managed to squeak out a shy thank you to Castle. After agreeing to come back to the precinct on Monday next, Castle watched Beckett walk away and fished his phone out his pocket and dialled a number long since committed to memory.

'Rodgers, Richard Alexander. ID 235-859-98. Request call back from the Director.'

The call made, he hung up knowing that he would be called back in less than a minute. 47 seconds later, his phone rang and he saw the ID appear.

'Rodgers, sir.'

'Yes sir, that is correct.'

'I need you to meet with Captain Gates to ease my entry into the Precinct next Monday... Yes I understand the truth may come out but I believe the agency will agree once you see the file on her mother's murder... I can be there tonight at 20.00, let me get home and get the file... Ok, see you later Dad.'

xxxxxx

Captain Gates was in a bad mood this morning as she made her way to a bland looking office building in Wall Street. She had been picked up that morning at 5.45 and all she knew was that the CIA director of internal operations had asked to meet her at 6.30 for an urgent matter. She was trying to work out why the CIA wanted to meet with her especially as they dealt with affairs outside their borders normally.

She looked up as someone opened the door for her and led her into the building; she waited as the lift took her up to the 10th floor and she was led into a boardroom with 2 people already present. To her surprise and anger, one of them was that blasted author Richard Castle! As she was about to ask him (very rudely) what he was doing here, a smooth cultured voice interrupted her.

'Captain Gates, I am so glad you could make this and at short notice – my apologies for that as well as Richard's. My name is Jackson Hunt and I am the Director responsible for all internal operations; what this means is that I look after investigations and intelligence within the USA that pose a threat to the country. Not a lot of people know this part exists as most assume it means coordinating efforts from various agencies only. The reason you are here is due the case of Detective Beckett's mother – how much do you know about it?'

Clearly thrown for a loop, she answered with quiet efficiency: 'I know all that is on file both for the case and what is on Detective Beckett's personal file. Am I to assume that there is more to it and that Mr Castle here is involved somehow?'

'Captain Gates, we know who is responsible for ordering Johanna Beckett's murder as well as countless others; the problem is that this person is also guilty of fraud, kidnapping, extortion, blackmail and drug trafficking. Sadly, we know all this but we are missing the proof that would allow us to take down this person; think of it as different islands belong to the same archipelago but not interconnecting bridges but just the foundations. What we need is stick close to Detective Beckett and I would like one of my operatives to join their team. The person responsible for all this is New York Senator William Bracken'

Captain Gates is visibly shocked by the news especially as she voted for Bracken last time. Hunt then goes on to explain how Castle had found the links and filled in the holes in the stories as he was good at doing. He then explained how Castle had come to Washington last night to explain his findings and hoped he could be assigned the task of covertly joining the team.

To say Gates was surprised is a bit of an understatement, she had never expected to read his service record from both military and CIA days. She then tried to match this with his well-known playboy persona as often advertised but it could not compute. Hunt then explained how he stopped active service about 8 years ago but his fame allowed him to gain invites to numerous events without raising eyebrows as well as listening to conversations since he was seen as a lady pleaser and not much else. This meant he was never taken seriously and people let their guard down seeing around and the tongues were loosened. It was agreed that Castle would come back as Beckett's partner and only Gates would know about his background and endgame.

xxxxxx

Castle got home after a long day: first dealing with Gates in the morning and then retesting for his concealed weapons license as well as filling in more paperwork than ever before – the bane of a writer is paperwork and Castle was a particular hater of convoluted 'legalese' paperwork. He updated his will today since he was now officially back in active service but reporting only in Hunt (of his dad depending on where the mood took him) – he needed to come clean to Alexis and his mother about what was going on and, more importantly, what will be happening. Fortunately, they were both in when he got home and his darling daughter was cooking. Martha heard him arrive and raised a glass of wine in greeting whilst Castle kissed the top of Alexis' head.

'Hello pumpkin, this smells delicious. Let me set the table for the three of us as I have some important stuff to discuss with you, ok?'

He walked away and starting laying out the plates and cutlery, whilst Martha and Alexis looked at each other with frowns on their faces. A few minutes later, Alexis dished everything out and her pasta carbonara looked heavenly; after making the appropriate appreciative noises, Martha turned to Castle and asked him the burning question:

'Right Richard, we are eating and now ready to hear what you have to say. We can only assume this has to do with Katherine and going back to shadowing her.'

Taking a sip of wine, Richard mulled his answer and decided to be 100% honest.

'In a sense Mother, you are correct but before I explain everything, I need to ask Alexis what she knows about my life before her as you know a little Mother. Alexis, tell me what you know about me before you were born, please.'

'Well Dad, it is well known that you published your books from your last year of college and have been a writer ever since – there is nothing else really is there?'

''You are partly right pumpkin as I have been a published author since I was 21 or so but my work experience is a bit more extensive than that. Now Gras knows a little but not everything and I am going to be very honest with you now so please do not interrupt me. I had no idea what to do after college since I was a writer and I wanted a job that would give me free time to do this, one day, I saw a sign for the Army and you know how I am. I was like a little boy in a candy store and so excited about everything.'

Castle took a drink before continuing.

'Because I always kept fit and loved my martial arts, I was quickly recruited and I went through their training. It was found that I had a gift for learning things and I was able to pick up some languages here and there as well as close combat skills. My main strength though was infiltration so getting into somewhere in and then out without being detected so I was put in recon and hostage evacuation. I was good at it, very good in fact so they put me in joint ops between Special Ops and the CIA when required. From there, I discovered the whole side of intelligence gathering and found it to be much more interesting.'

'Due to my fame growing with my books, it was felt I could serve much better in the CIA since I was getting invited to parties all over the country and any trips abroad would be classified as promotional work whilst I would carry out my missions. Eventually, the higher echelons were afraid the pattern would be noticed and I had just divorced Gina so I moved out of active duty and my work focussed only on gathering info when attending events as people spoke more freely with me around since I was a playboy.'

'What it comes down to is this: Beckett's mother's murder was ordered by someone very senior in the US political scene and there is a tentative truce in place as long as Beckett no longer digs into this. The problem is that she will at one point and regardless of whether I am here or there, I will be a target so my Director and I have agreed that I will investigate using his resources to find the proof we need to go after him and control what Ka... Beckett does, so I am starting back at the precinct on Monday.'

'Alexis, I want you to know something else because I know you are worried about it; I love Beckett but she is engaged now to Davidson so that will be the end of that from a romantic point of view. As soon as this case is solved, I will be leaving Beckett and Nikki Heat behind so that I will not needlessly be putting my life in danger. Now, I will clear away the table and then feel free to ask me questions and I will answer these questions as long as they do not compromise any national security.'

With that, Castle stood and starting clearing the dishes leaving behind him 2 women with their jaws on the floor. At the sink, he sighed knowing that the Q&A session that was to follow would take a long time and, hopefully, bring them all closer together.

 **Any constructive criticism is welcome!**


	2. Kate's Choice

**Bloody hell! I did not expect messages to be so anti-Josh – have no fear, DMB is not going to feature that much in the story and the engagement does fall apart very quickly! It is only giving Rick the excuse to harden his shell and move into his new role.**

 **For those that are confused: in some mythology, the dragon is afraid of attacking elephants as he needs to wrap himself around the elephant and bite him over and over again but when he does die, he falls over and traps the dragon beneath him and therefore killing him. Hence the title!**

 **Just a quick insert explaining Kate's reasoning – not saying it is correct though!**

Beckett sighed as she slid into the booth whilst Lanie was ordering drinks at the bar; she was happy the day was over. It hadn't been a difficult case at all as it was solved in 4 hours or so, but this had been Castle's first day back and there was something missing... apart from the coffee. There had not been any wild theories – although that could be because it was solved so quickly – and there had not been any free-flowing banter between herself and Risk. No he is Castle, she chided herself as she twirled her engagement ring.

Lanie slipped into the booth with two drinks and gave one to Beckett. 'What's on your mind Kate? And don't say nothing because I can see it very clearly that something is bothering you, so spill to mama Lanie!'

'Today was a weird day Lanie; Castle was all quiet and reserved almost. It's like something inside him died and it has to do with me...'

'Kate it is painfully obvious what the problem is – he loves you and he knows you are getting married to Josh so knowing you the way he does, he assumes Josh is your one and done and that's that. He will forever be stuck in the friend category – he probably still loves you... scratch that, I know he still loves you but he is giving himself space from you so that it hurts less when you say yes to Josh in 2 months. Ultimately, that is what you want, right?'

Beckett looks down at the table top so that Lanie cannot see her tears gathering in her eyes, but nothing can cover the roughness of her voice when she speaks next. 'I know he loves me, he told me when I was shot...'

'What?!' Lanie shouts attracting some interest from neighbours so she lowers her voice. 'Why the hell are you marrying Josh then? You know how much Castle would move heaven and earth for you if you needed something, he pays out 100k to help solve your mum's murder, he runs into a burning building and he tries to take a bullet for you! I cannot believe you told him you had no feelings for him and he has still come back.'

'He... he doesn't know I heard him. Wait, let me explain Lanie before you interrupt. I told him I didn't remember anything from the shooting. I was so upset after everything when I came out the sort of coma. All I knew was changed, everything I could trust in was turned upside down so I needed stability and Josh provides that. I know where I stand with him, I know he loves for certain as he didn't leave for Haiti before and I know he will give me my space when I ask for it.'

'Kate, we've had this discussion before. Josh is great but he is no Castle; Castle puts you at the centre of his universe with Alexis, he goes out of his way to make sure you are well even though it may seem intrusive at first. Also, you are seeing history repeat itself; Castle is going to remove himself from working with you like he did with Demming – this time, it seems he may do it slower though so you may have time to make amends with Castle if you want or can.'

'Lanie, I... I cannot break things off with Josh. With this ring, he hs shown me how committed he is to doing this together and building a future together. He will be able to focus fully on his career in New York and I will be able to get the space I need to solve mum's murder. I know it may not make sense in people's minds but to me, this is perfect. I need this stability right now and if Castle leaves, this shows me that he was not committed to making this work.'

'Girl, he doesn't know he can 'make this work' as you say. He is not a cheater and he has never even kissed a woman with a boyfriend or husband so the best thing to do is protect his heart the only way he knows how. You are going to regret this because if he finds you lied to him about knowing his feelings, he will definitely be done with you and that will be the end of that. All I know is that he loves you, he would literally kill himself before hurting you if he could but you have decided to let your head rule instead of your heart. This is going to end badly, mark my words.'

'Lanie, I know your thoughts but please support me as my best friend for what I want to do. I want to be able to enjoy this evening with you and chill after a particularly strange day. Please?'

Lanie sighed and nodded to Kate. She knew this would end badly; there was something that Castle wasn't telling Kate because he was looking at Kate with a slightly distant look in his eyes and slightly further away – physically – than before. It was only later that night that Lanie realised Castle knew Kate had lied and the separation was already started. Lanie did not sleep well that night.

xxxxxx

Castle was sitting at his desk trying to determine how he could finish his Nikki Heat books as soon as possible – fortunately, he was on a roll at the moment but he was having a small break. He was toying with the idea of bringing in Rook's brother from the army into the frame and... well that's where he was stumped. He was trying to integrate Rook's brother Alex and cut Rook out. Castle was thrown out of his musings by his phone ringing and he recognised the number.

'Hello Dad, how are you?'

'Good son, I need to see you to discuss the fire reports as soon as possible. I will be at the Old Haunt in 3 hours, meet me in the office tonight.'

Hunt hung up and Castle breathed out slowly knowing that his dad had found something compromising and potentially dangerous. Time to get ready to meet his fate – little did he know that both Beckett and Lanie were at the Old Haunt that evening. Only Lanie would see him meeting with Hunt. Lanie would also try to see him in his office and be turned away by the bar staff. Lanie would suspect something was going on but she would be uncertain what exactly was happening. This would be one of the times when Castle's usual CIA theories would be needed and this time, it would be correct.

 **Just a shorty here and I am working on the next chapter but that will take about a week as I am now travelling with work. Apologies!**


End file.
